Islamabad/Beijing: Unknown gunmen Wednesday fired at a vehicle carrying two Chinese factory workers, injuring one of them in Pakistan’s largest city of Karachi with China downplaying the incident as an ‘isolated case’.
The attackers, who were riding on a motorcycle, fled the scene after committing the crime, police said.
One of the Chinese nationals was injured due to the gunshot, while the other was unhurt in the incident, police said.
No one has taken responsibility for the attack and the motive behind it is unknown.
The shooting incident comes days after an explosion on a bus carrying Chinese engineers in Dasu area of Upper Kohistan district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province killed nine Chinese and injured 27 others. A total of 13 people were killed in the incident.
Reacting to the attack, China termed it as an “isolated case”.
Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesman Zhao Lijian told a media briefing in Beijing that “China is following this matter closely, and the relevant case is under investigation”.
“This incident is an isolated case,” he said.
“We’re fully confident that the Pakistani side will protect the safety of Chinese citizens and property in Pakistan,” he said.
July 14, a bus carrying Chinese engineers and workers fell into a deep ravine after the explosion in Pakistan’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province. China rushed a special investigative team amid confusing signals from Pakistan that it could be a gas blast.
Pakistan July 24 retracted from its earlier stand that the blast was caused due to technical problems.
The two sides in a joint press release issued at the conclusion of the third session of the Pakistan-China Foreign Ministers’ Strategic Dialogue held in Chengdu agreed that the incident was a “terrorist attack”.
The Dasu bus blast had accentuated Beijing’s concerns as thousands of Chinese personnel worked in installations and projects being built under the aegis of the USD 60 billion China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC).
Thousands of Chinese have been employed on various projects in Pakistan, including those being executed under the CPEC.
Karachi is the capital of Sindh province and has witnessed umpteen incidents of violence since the last many years.
PTI
